‘Offensive’ comments deplored by Bishop

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COMMENTS made by a Chichester diocese representative on homosexuality were condemned by the Bishop of Chichester.

On a visit to Jamaica, Andrea Minichiello Williams urged the government to retain laws which criminalise homosexuality.

Mrs Williams is one of the elected lay representatives to the General Synod – the national church legislator.

Bishop Martin Warner said: ‘The comments by Andrea Minichiello Williams about the decriminalisation of same sex intercourse in Jamaica have no sanction in the Church of England or the diocese of Chichester. Insofar as such comments incite homophobia, they should be rejected as offensive and unacceptable. The Christian church is widely perceived as homophobic and intolerant of those for whom same sex attraction is the foundation of their emotional lives.

‘As a matter of urgency, therefore, Christians must find legitimate ways to affirm and demonstrate the conviction that God loves every human being.’